https://tankie.tube/videos/watch/4446f0bc-4faf-4aae-ae90-5e1c0691c545 Rania Khalek spoke with writer and conflict mediator Michael Vatikiotis about his latest book exploring the lost history of Europeans fleeing to safety in the Middle East over a century ago. Vatikiotis discusses recent developments in Myanmar, China and Southeast Asia. He is the Asia director at the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, a leading conflict resolution organization. You can listen to every episode of Rania Khalek Dispatches anywhere you get podcasts. Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3za9DRK Apple: https://apple.co/3zeYpeW TIME CODES: 0:00 Intro THE LEVANTINES 1:34 Who were the Levantine people? 4:27 Irony of Middle East being a safe haven for Europeans 5:59 European immigrants as appendages of imperialism in the Middle East 8:20 Why did this levantine phenomenon come to an end? 10:09 Controversial role of the Greek Orthodox Church in Jerusalem 14:27 From tolerance and liberalism to Wahhabism 19:08 When Wahhabis attempted to raid Jordan 21:14 Is southeast Asia a safe haven for diversity and multiculturalism today? MYANMAR 24:06 What’s behind the coup in Myanmar? 27:41 What are the goals of Myanmar’s protest movement 29:47 Is there involvement of outside powers in Myanmar? 33:19 Myanmar and sanctions 35:05 Russia’s relationship with Myanmar after the coup 36:20 Decades of insurgency in Myanmar 40:32 The plight of the Rohingya 44:27 Identity politics as a legacy of British colonialism 44:44 Can the conflict in Myanmar be resolved anytime soon? CHINA 45:54 Is there really a genocide happening in Xinjiang? 51:02 China’s “war on terror” vs America’s 55:10 Feudalism in Tibet and US-backed separatism 57:56 China’s political economy 1:03:17 The handling of COVID-19 in southeast Asia and economic consequences of the pandemic 1:08:27 Impact of climate change in east Asia 1:11:07 Why does it seem like conflict between the US and China is inevitable? 1:11:48 Do the Chinese view the US in the same cartoonish and menacing way that US media and politicians portray the Chinese? 1:15:58 Closer financial, economic, and political cooperation between the Middle East and China Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:40:01 GMT https://validator.w3.org/feed/docs/rss2.html PeerTube - https://tankie.tube https://tankie.tube/lazy-static/avatars/3ba3ff73-a8b6-49c9-add8-9653ef090c7f.webp https://tankie.tube/videos/watch/4446f0bc-4faf-4aae-ae90-5e1c0691c545 All rights reserved, unless otherwise specified in the terms specified at https://tankie.tube/about and potential licenses granted by each content's rightholder.